All Alongside Of Each Other
About
Artist
Rose Nolan
Commissioned
City of Sydney
Location
Sydney, Australia
Client
Laing O'Rourke
Development
Sydney Central Station
Year of Completion
2024
Materials & Processes
Manufactured
Melbourne, Australia
Materials
Polished Stainless Steel, Red Terrazzo, LEDs
Processes
Lasercutting, Folding, Welding, Illumination, Painting
Where you can find All Alongside Of Each Other
Artist statement
All Alongside of Each Other offers an open and affirmative text-based proposition to celebrate the daily passage of people as they move together through the portal of Sydney’s iconic Central Station.
It is a playful and unifying refrain that draws on shared journeys and the experience of travel and movement, using the literal concept of transport connections (parallel tracks, shared platforms, timetables) to consider the more abstract idea of connections to people, place, culture, past and present.
The artwork – a large-scale red-and-white terrazzo floor drawing – begins with the formal red-and-white typology of the athletics track: parallel lines, circles and arcs. This strong graphic form operates as a marker of time and place as commuters actively follow parallel paths to reach their destination. It represents time as measurement – linear, fixed and predictable- not unlike the function of the century-old Central Station clock tower; a major landmark visible from many vantage points and known historically as the ‘working man’s watch
About the artwork
Rose Nolan’s immersive artwork, All Alongside of Each Other is a monumental terrazzo floor-work and a text-sculpture, located in the metro concourse and its northern entrance.
Taking a synthetic turf athletics track as its starting point, this playful and interactive work introduces whimsical notions of outdoors, recreation, fitness, collaboration and improvement. The floor text offers a series of meditative guides for the repeat commuter, whose journey may be heightened by different phrases and interpretations.
Rose Nolan worked closely with station architects – Woods Bagot and John McAslan + Partners to ensure the artwork seamlessly integrates with the station design. The rich red colour, graphic form and materiality also reflect upon Central Station’s built heritage. References include: the intricate inlaid terrazzo floor of the former ticketing office, and the graphic red and white striped brick work of the Northern Concourse facades.
All Alongside of Each Other creates a marker of time and place in transition between the interior and external worlds. Daily commuters become participants in a contemporary public artwork which they experience whilst moving through the Sydney Metro concourse. The bold colour, playful form and calming phrases combine to remind passengers of simple shared pleasures to be experienced in everyday travel.
About the artwork Cont.
The artwork – a large-scale red-and-white terrazzo floor drawing – begins with the formal red-and-white typology of the athletics track: parallel lines, circles and arcs. This strong graphic form operates as a marker of time and place as commuters actively follow parallel paths to reach their destination. It represents time as measurement – linear, fixed and predictable- not unlike the function of the century-old Central Station clock tower; a major landmark visible from many vantage points and known historically as the ‘working man’s watch’.
Seen on approach from the Eddy Avenue entrance, the polished stainless-steel letters of All Alongside of Each Other function as a sign, beckoning commuters into the grand Northern Concourse and through to the track located below at the new Sydney Metro concourse. Scaled up and given static form, these words are assigned new meaning within this busy urban environment.
All Alongside of Each Other evokes the constant flow and circularity of daily life. As an artwork conceived for the public realm, return commuters become participants in an unfolding experience as they move freely and effortlessly in and across the Sydney Metro concourse space. All Alongside of Each Other encompasses location, journey and destination and is suggestive of the past, present and future, anchored in a persuasive and universal visual form.
